1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to trash compactors as are particularly used in passenger-carrying aircrafts or the like flying vehicles where a relatively large amount of trash accumulates during flights, rendering space-saving trash compaction essential. It resides especially in improvements in the trash compactor of Applicant's prior U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/359,439, filed on May 31, 1989.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The trash compactor disclosed in Applicant's prior application Ser. No. 359,439 is of the type having a cabinet divided into a front compaction chamber and a rear storage chamber. The trash compaction chamber is intended to receive a container into which trash is thrown and compacted by a mechanism provided in a remote chamber above the compaction chamber. The rear storage chamber is intended to receive a trash container once it is filled. The two chambers are separated by a wall structure involving a rear wall panel which is capable of resisting the compaction pressure from the trash container but which also has to be removable in order that the filled container be moved into the storage chamber.
In one instance, in the aforesaid application, the rear wall panel is of the garage door type, that is made up of a plurality of hingedly interconnected horizontal slats made movable into a second remote chamber of the cabinet, located above the rear storage chamber. Retraction of the wall panel into the remote chamber is by means of an electric motor-operated lifting screw. The arrangement is efficient in closing and clearing the passage between the cabinet front and rear chambers but requires the use of an electric motor and related equipment making for a costly installation necessitating some maintenance.
In another embodiment, the passage between the two chambers is closed by a solid but loose back panel which is hooked onto the top edge of the back panel of the trash container before the latter is pushed into position in the compaction chamber. Once in it, the edges of this back panel rest against a solid frame which includes a vertical step or shoulder made by a drop between the bottom walls of the rear and front chambers. While the arrangement is also efficient, it is complex in construction and more particularly requires that once a container is filled, it has to be moved out of the cabinet in order to remove the solid wall panel before the container is pushed into the storage chamber.
The compactor disclosed in the above application, also comprises a movable solid wall panel which supports a side panel of the cardboard trash container to prevent it from bulging out. This wall panel is movable away from the container, once the latter is filled, by a cam-operated mechanism which is not found too convenient, particularly in that it does not ensure the wall panel to move safely in parallel relationship with itself.
Another feature of the compactor disclosed in this previous application lies in a locking mechanism for the service door which is based on the use of at least three lock bolts having to extend through the outer linings of the door frame and door opening in the front wall frame. All of these lock bolts are operated by a single linkage assembly which is, for that reason, fairly complex and not too efficient.